We’re glad you’re here! Welcome to Guitar Center Hollywood’s Profile page. GCH is GC’s first and flagship location. GCH revolutionized the music instrument retail industry (first music store to have separate departments) and set the bar for what a music store should be and how to take care of customers. GCH is one of the largest music stores on earth. Our amazing selection includes gear for musicians of all levels and tastes (Fender, Gibson, Martin, Taylor, Marshall, Vox , Roland , Z Vex, Love Pedals, Line 6, Avid, Apple, Apogee, Nord, Casio, Yamaha, JBL, DAS, DW, Pearl, Tama, Vintage, Used etc..). We always strive to keep the largest selection of amazing products in stock of anyone anywhere, and if we don’t have it chances are we can get it. Fast.
Rock Walk GCH has immortalized over 400 musicians through our Rock Walk inductions (Les Paul, Eddie Van Halen, The Cure, Iron Maiden, etc) and our collection of hand prints and memorabilia draws music fans from all over. After being inducted, Billy Gibbons famously said “I’ve made millions in rock n roll by playing 3 chord songs but in my mother’s eyes I hadn’t made it till I put my hands in cement at Guitar Center Hollywood”.
Special Events GCH proudly hosts the Guitar Center Sessions Direct TV show (Filmed in the legendary Vintage room and featuring artists such as Peter Gabriel, Jane’s Addiction, Buddy Guy, Social D, Weezer, etc), Pod Casts by some of today’s coolest bands and musicians (Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub, Linda Perry, etc) and our Sessions series featuring performances and in depth conversations with the industry’s biggest Icons (Quincy Jones, Alan Parsons, etc).
Dreamers GCH is the home store for the LA Music scene. We cater to pros, up and comers, weekend warriors, collectors and major studios alike. We treat every star like a regular person and every regular person like a star. We understand that every customer who walks through our door is pursuing a dream and we take pride in being a partner in making that dream come true.
Our selection and staff (many of them pro musicians) are an indispensable resource for the LA music community. Our hands on environment give customers the opportunity to get personal with the gear. It could be playing a vintage guitar from our world class collection or trying out the latest software before purchasing it on one of our software demo stations. We like it when you touch the stuff!
History The History of GCH is the History of Guitar Center. Funny enough GC really started as a keyboard store. In 1959 The Organ Center opened its doors at 7257 Sunset Blvd. In addition to selling organs the store also sold home appliances. In 1967 The Organ Center started to carry Vox products. These included Vox keyboards, guitar amps and guitars. The store changed its name to the Vox Guitar Center and shortly after that to The Guitar Center. GCH moved into its current location at 7425 Sunset (Formally the Oriental and Granada theaters) and opened to the public on Nov. 13th 1985. Before GCH moved in to its current location, the property has hosted work spaces for artists such as WC Fields, Jimi Hendrix and Love (low rider was recorded in what is now our live room).
Upgrades The current location has gone through 19 changes. Most recently we completely refreshed our Hi Tech Department, integrated Rock Walk Memorabilia into the store and built a full service GC Garage where our world class guitar techs do repairs, service and installations. The new Hi Tech department includes a state of the art “Club” in our Live Room featuring a DAS speaker system and an AVID VENUE mixing board. Our keyboard and software department includes a hands-on software area with computer stations where you can demo almost every software title we carry. In addition to having a very impressive amount of incredible recording gear and Apple products in stock we also offer tech services. We can install and authorize all of your software as well as any additional hardware upgrades to any new Mac purchase making your system plug and play.
You GCH is a true destination location. It is a world renowned icon of LA’s music scene. It’s even a regular stop for Hollywood tours. Our clientele comes from as close as Hollywood, Silverlake, Echo Park, Downtown, Los Feliz, Glendale, NoHo, Mid City, Beverly Hills, etc...To as far as Australia, Japan, Korea, China, England, France, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Hawaii, Alaska, Russia and Beyond. But for all of this history and lore the only thing that keeps this place relevant are our customers. Without you we have no soul. So please come on down and continue to help us make this the greatest music store on earth!!!!!
In January of this year we had a nice visit from our friends at Musical Merchant Review and they chatted with our Platinum Guitar Manager Jourdan Jaacovi, here is an excerpt from that article:
"The boulevard has changed in other, better ways, too. “It’s a nicer place than it was 10 years ago,” says Guitar Center’s Jourdan Jaacovi. “It’s much cleaner and safer. It’s still very rock and roll, but just more family oriented now as well. It’s a whole different vibe here completely different customer, different stock, and a lot more traffic.”
"(Other stores) could not be blamed for being jealous of the Sunset Blvd. Guitar Center. After all, they have up to six tour buses stopping at their doorstep daily. Their Rock Walk of Fame immortalizes over 400 musicians, including ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons who, when he was being indoctrinated, famously said, “I’ve made millions in rock and roll by playing three chord songs, but in my mother’s eyes I hadn’t made it till I put my hands in cement at Guitar Center Hollywood.”
"The chain has a long history. It opened as The Organ Center in 1959, and in 1967 started carrying Vox products. It would become the “Guitar Center” and move a few doors down to the present street address in 1985. Today, around 75 employees look after the 30,000 square feet stocked with instruments and gear."
"Jaacovi, the flagship store’s Platinum Room manager, has been with the company since 2009, and personally caters to a lot of the stars. Much of the business he does is artist relations and he states, “I’d say more than any other shop, we cater to the largest clientele of working musicians.” And not just local musicians, either, as Jaacovi estimates more than 20 percent of GC Hollywood’s daily business comes from happy minstrels visiting from other parts of the country."
"And what they find in the store is something distinct from your “typical” GC. “There are definitely differences,” Jourdan says. Worth the price of admission alone is the Vintage Room, and as this single store does the entire vintage buying for the 223-store chain, suffice to say it’s by far the best GC for old gear. The vintage category alone has an eight-person staff."
“Another difference is the Platinum instruments, the most expensive new guitars in the world from Gibson and Fender custom shops, and Paul Reed Smith’s private stock collection. We have the largest collection of new guitars over $3,000, and a lot of them – probably over 300.”
"Otherwise, there’s just more. Every department a typical GC has is here – it’s just bigger with more selection. “We have an extremely large live sound/DJ/recording department that’s at least double the size of the usual room.”
The store does a good job flaunting its legendary aspects, and the Rock Walk has the same allure that draws people to Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Obviously a lot of the visitors to GC Hollywood are music fans hoping to spot a rock star trying out a new amp, but Jaacovi insists that that is no problem; he doesn’t even take issue with non-players handling the gear.
“Our motto is that we want people to come into this store and experience it. When I was growing up, I didn’t have a Guitar Center, and the local store kept all the guitars behind the counter far from those who wanted to play it.” But even those with no intention of buying an instrument have an opportunity to spend money, as another unique aspect of the store is there are plenty of t-Shirts, gifts, and souvenirs to take home."
“It’s a destination, and visitors just want to be a part of the rock and roll history.”
Thanks MMR for the great article!
In other news we just received a truckload of new guitars directly from the NAMM show! Stand out guitars include an amazing assortment of handpicked PRS (GC bought the whole PRS NAMM booth!), some great new Fender Master Built guitars, some really cool new Duesenbergs (we are the only authorized distributor on the west coast) and some great new Gibson Custom Shop VOS guitars.
In addition to this Jourdan has been diligently acquiring some very cool used gear for the platinum room including some great Divided by Thirteen amps, Dr Z amps, a great British Handwired LTD Edition Vox Ac30 and some very cool guitars including a custom shop Fender Telecaster sold to us by Steven Segal.
If you have any questions about gear, happenings or any other Platinum related questions please call Jourdan Jaacovi at 323 874 1060 or email him at jourdani.jaacovi@guitarcenter.com. You can also visit Jourdan's page on this site ( http://stores.guitarcenter.com/Profiles/4e29c7b25a51ea2bdcebdd47 ) were you can see some cool photos of the gear mentioned above.
Thanks!
Rock Walk GCH has immortalized over 400 musicians through our Rock Walk inductions (Les Paul, Eddie Van Halen, The Cure, Iron Maiden, etc) and our collection of hand prints and memorabilia draws music fans from all over. After being inducted, Billy Gibbons famously said “I’ve made millions in rock n roll by playing 3 chord songs but in my mother’s eyes I hadn’t made it till I put my hands in cement at Guitar Center Hollywood”.
Special Events GCH proudly hosts the Guitar Center Sessions Direct TV show (Filmed in the legendary Vintage room and featuring artists such as Peter Gabriel, Jane’s Addiction, Buddy Guy, Social D, Weezer, etc), Pod Casts by some of today’s coolest bands and musicians (Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub, Linda Perry, etc) and our Sessions series featuring performances and in depth conversations with the industry’s biggest Icons (Quincy Jones, Alan Parsons, etc).
Dreamers GCH is the home store for the LA Music scene. We cater to pros, up and comers, weekend warriors, collectors and major studios alike. We treat every star like a regular person and every regular person like a star. We understand that every customer who walks through our door is pursuing a dream and we take pride in being a partner in making that dream come true.
Our selection and staff (many of them pro musicians) are an indispensable resource for the LA music community. Our hands on environment give customers the opportunity to get personal with the gear. It could be playing a vintage guitar from our world class collection or trying out the latest software before purchasing it on one of our software demo stations. We like it when you touch the stuff!
History The History of GCH is the History of Guitar Center. Funny enough GC really started as a keyboard store. In 1959 The Organ Center opened its doors at 7257 Sunset Blvd. In addition to selling organs the store also sold home appliances. In 1967 The Organ Center started to carry Vox products. These included Vox keyboards, guitar amps and guitars. The store changed its name to the Vox Guitar Center and shortly after that to The Guitar Center. GCH moved into its current location at 7425 Sunset (Formally the Oriental and Granada theaters) and opened to the public on Nov. 13th 1985. Before GCH moved in to its current location, the property has hosted work spaces for artists such as WC Fields, Jimi Hendrix and Love (low rider was recorded in what is now our live room).
Upgrades The current location has gone through 19 changes. Most recently we completely refreshed our Hi Tech Department, integrated Rock Walk Memorabilia into the store and built a full service GC Garage where our world class guitar techs do repairs, service and installations. The new Hi Tech department includes a state of the art “Club” in our Live Room featuring a DAS speaker system and an AVID VENUE mixing board. Our keyboard and software department includes a hands-on software area with computer stations where you can demo almost every software title we carry. In addition to having a very impressive amount of incredible recording gear and Apple products in stock we also offer tech services. We can install and authorize all of your software as well as any additional hardware upgrades to any new Mac purchase making your system plug and play.
You GCH is a true destination location. It is a world renowned icon of LA’s music scene. It’s even a regular stop for Hollywood tours. Our clientele comes from as close as Hollywood, Silverlake, Echo Park, Downtown, Los Feliz, Glendale, NoHo, Mid City, Beverly Hills, etc...To as far as Australia, Japan, Korea, China, England, France, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Hawaii, Alaska, Russia and Beyond. But for all of this history and lore the only thing that keeps this place relevant are our customers. Without you we have no soul. So please come on down and continue to help us make this the greatest music store on earth!!!!!